George III"George III, who reigned from 1760 to 1820, is most often remembered today for his loss both of the American Colonies and his own sanity: Attacked by his political opponents as a 'tyrant', opposition politicians at the time and Whig historians subsequently portrayed him as seeking to undermine the British constitution by increasing the power of the Crown. However, over the last decades, historians have looked again at his life and reign in the light of fresh evidence and a new understanding of the period. What has emerged is an altogether more sympathetic portrait of a hard-working, devoted king and family man." "Far from being the intellectual mediocrity of legend, George III was interested in, and an active supporter of, the latest advances in science. He was a voracious buyer of books and his collection was, in due course, to double the size of Britain's national library. He was also a popular and much-loved monarch and when he died, after a decade of enforced seclusion, there was a national outpouring of grief that has rarely been equalled until modern times." "What, then, is the truth about this most controversial of rulers? This concise biography, while giving an account of George III's personal and political life, will seek to place it in its social, constitutional and international context, so that the reader can reach their own verdict on this intriguing and much-maligned monarch."--Jacket |
Contents
Contents | 8 |
Accession and the search for a First Minister 176070 | 28 |
The American War 177082 | 44 |
3 other sections not shown
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accession Addington American colonies amongst Anne Augusta Augusta of Saxe-Gotha became birth Britain British Library British Museum Buckingham House Bute Bute's Canterbury Caroline Castle Catholic century Charles James Fox Commons Coronation Crown death Dr Willis Duke of York Edward England fact Fanny Burney father favourite February force Fox's France Frederick French future George George III's Government grandfather Grenville Grenville's Handel's Hanover Hanoverian heir Henry Ireland January John Wilkes Kew Palace King George King's Library later live Lord North madness March marriage military ministry monarch mother Napoleon National Portrait Gallery October Opposite Parliament peace physician Pitt political politician Prince of Wales Princess Charlotte Queen Charlotte Queen's House Regent reign remarked Rockingham Royal Family Shelburne Sophia sovereign St George's Chapel St George's Day St James's Stuart subjects thought throne took troops Westminster Abbey Whigs William Windsor www.bridgeman.co.uk young Prince